A variety of pliers are known in the art which are capable of gripping the lip of a fish and, in so doing, assist fishermen in the handling of the fish, as evidenced by the following prior-issued U.S. Pat. No. 2,653,844 to Detwiler; U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,035 to Tennyson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,853 to Oye; U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,833 to Aucoin; U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,954 to Cavazos; U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,074 to Zincke; U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,585 to Camp; Des. U.S. Pat. No. 254,563 to Nihizer; and Des. U.S. Pat. No. 307,788 to Mattson. While such prior proposals for fish handling pliers are suitable for their intended purpose, improvements are still needed.
In order to be useful, fish gripping pliers must, of course, securely grip the fish's lower lip. At the same time, however, the grip exerted on the fish's lower lip must be sufficiently gentle to minimize (or prevent entirely) substantial injury from occurring while the fish is being handled (e.g., so as to remove fish hooks). This secure, yet gentle, gripping function is even more important for the fisherman who intends to release his catch. As might be envisioned, a fish being handled out of water fights desperately against the grip of the pliers. As a result, substantial lateral or side-to-side forces are exerted on the jaws of the pliers which can cause sever abrasion or tearing of the fish's lip.
It would therefore be highly desirable if fish handling pliers were provided which exerted a secure, yet gentle, gripping force on the fish's lip while minimizing (if not preventing entirely) injury to the fish that may result from lateral forces being applied to the pliers. It is towards fulfilling such a need that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, the present invention is embodied in fish handling pliers which are stabilized against lateral movements of the pliers jaws. More specifically, according to the present invention, the fish handling pliers of the present invention include an upper member having an upper handle section at a rearward end thereof, and an upper jaw at a forward end thereof. A lower member has a lower jaw at a forward end thereof which is opposed to the upper jaw of the upper member. The lower member also has a rearward end pivotally connected to the upper member to allow for pivotal movements of the lower member towards and away from the upper member to thereby close and open the opposed upper and lower jaws, respectively.
Importantly, one of the upper and lower members defines a lengthwise-extending groove. The other of the upper and lower members includes a lengthwise extending tongue in opposition to the groove. The tongue is thus seated within the groove when said upper and lower jaws are closed thereby stabilizing the upper and lower members, and hence their respective upper and lower jaws, against lateral movements. Most preferably, the upper member includes the groove, while the lower member includes the tongue.
The fish pliers of the present invention advantageously have a lower handle section in opposition to the upper handle section which is pivotally connected to said lower member. A toggle lever may be pivotally connected at one end thereof to the lower handle section rearwardly of the pivotal connection between the lower member and the lower handle section. The opposite end of the toggle lever may be pivotally connected to the upper handle section so as to provide an over-the-center locking assembly.
These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.